AMERIS BANCORP ANNOUNCES FINANCIAL RESULTS FOR FIRST QUARTER 2022
PR Newswire
ATLANTA, April 26, 2022
Highlights of the Company's results for the first quarter of 2022 include the following:
Net income of $81.7 million, or $1.17 per diluted share
Organic growth in loans of $269.5 million, or 6.8% annualized (and $350.7 million, or 8.9% annualized, exclusive of PPP loans), during 2022
Growth in tangible book value of $0.58 per share, or 2.2%, to $26.84 at March 31, 2022, compared with $26.26 at December 31, 2021
Less than 1% dilution in tangible book value from decrease in unrealized gain on available-for-sale securities
Improvement in net interest margin of 17bps, from 3.18% last quarter to 3.35% this quarter
Adjusted return on average assets of 1.31%
Adjusted return on average tangible common equity of 16.38%
Continued growth in noninterest bearing deposits, representing 40.18% of total deposits, up from 39.54% at December 31, 2021 and 38.07% a year ago
ATLANTA, April 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Ameris Bancorp (Nasdaq: ABCB) (the "Company") today reported net income of $81.7 million, or $1.17 per diluted share, for the quarter ended March 31, 2022, compared with $125.0 million, or $1.79 per diluted share, for the quarter ended March 31, 2021. The Company reported adjusted net income of $75.0 million, or $1.08 per diluted share, for the quarter ended March 31, 2022, compared with $115.7 million, or $1.66 per diluted share, for the same period in 2021. Adjusted net income excludes after-tax merger and conversion charges, servicing right valuation adjustments, gain on bank owned life insurance ("BOLI") proceeds and gain/loss on sale of bank premises.
Commenting on the Company's results, Palmer Proctor, the Company's Chief Executive Officer, said, "Solid first quarter results reflect our continued responsible organic growth initiatives. Despite challenging economic conditions and market volatility, we had annualized loan growth, excluding PPP, of 8.9%, our margin expanded by 17 basis points and we maintained our credit quality. We remain focused on tangible book value and have successfully avoided material negative impact on capital from the securities portfolio over this past interest rate cycle. Our results reflect the discipline of our team and the continued opportunities throughout our strong Southeastern footprint."
Net Interest Income and Net Interest Margin Net interest income on a tax-equivalent basis (TE) continued to increase in the first quarter of 2022, to $173.6 million, compared with $167.9 million for the fourth quarter of 2021 and $166.2 million for the first quarter of 2021. The Company's net interest margin significantly improved to 3.35% for the first quarter of 2022, up from 3.18% reported for the fourth quarter of 2021 but less than 3.57% reported for the first quarter of 2021. Accretion income for the first quarter of 2022 decreased to $1.0 million, compared with $2.8 million for the fourth quarter of 2021 and $6.1 million for the first quarter of 2021.
Yields on loans increased to 4.37% during the first quarter of 2022, compared with 4.26% for the fourth quarter of 2021 and decreased from 4.53% for the first quarter of 2021. Contributing to interest income on loans for the first quarter of 2022 was $19.1 million of interest income on loans from the recent Balboa Capital acquisition, as well as $3.0 million of accelerated fee income on Paycheck Protection Program ("PPP") loan forgiveness, compared with $4.8 million and $8.2 million, respectively, in the fourth quarter of 2021. Loan production in the banking division during the first quarter of 2022 was $805.5 million, with weighted average yields of 5.17%, compared with $1.1 billion and 3.35%, respectively, in the fourth quarter of 2021 and $600.6 million and 3.80%, respectively, in the first quarter of 2021. Loan production in the lines of business (including retail mortgage, warehouse lending, SBA and premium finance) amounted to an additional $4.7 billion during the first quarter of 2022, with weighted average yields of 3.63%, compared with $5.5 billion and 3.43%, respectively, during the fourth quarter of 2021 and $7.5 billion and 3.15%, respectively, during the first quarter of 2021.
Interest expense during the first quarter of 2022 decreased to $10.8 million, compared with $11.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2021, and $13.0 million in the first quarter of 2021. The decrease in interest expense was related to continued repricing of deposits as CDs mature and the repayment of remaining borrowings assumed from Balboa Capital in January 2022. The Company's total cost of funds moved one basis point lower to 0.22% in the first quarter of 2022 as compared with the fourth quarter of 2021. Deposit costs decreased one basis point during the first quarter of 2022 to 0.09%, compared with 0.10% in the fourth quarter of 2021. Costs of interest-bearing deposits decreased during the quarter from 0.16% in the fourth quarter of 2021 to 0.14% in the first quarter of 2022.
Noninterest Income Noninterest income increased $5.1 million, or 6.3%, in the first quarter of 2022 to $86.9 million, compared with $81.8 million for the fourth quarter of 2021, primarily as a result of increased mortgage banking activity, which grew by $2.2 million, or 3.6%, to $62.9 million in the first quarter of 2022, compared with $60.7 million for the fourth quarter of 2021. Excluding the $9.7 million and $4.5 million recovery of servicing right impairment recorded in the first quarter of 2022 and fourth quarter of 2021, respectively, mortgage revenue decreased this quarter by $2.9 million, while expenses in the mortgage division decreased by $3.5 million, for an increased efficiency ratio within that division. Gain on sale spreads decreased to 2.94% in the first quarter of 2022 from 3.27% for the fourth quarter of 2021. Total production in the retail mortgage division decreased to $1.53 billion in the first quarter of 2022, compared with $1.82 billion for the fourth quarter of 2021. The retail mortgage open pipeline was $1.41 billion at the end of the first quarter of 2022, compared with $1.62 billion at December 31, 2021.
Service charge revenue decreased $726,000, or 6.2%, to $11.1 million in the first quarter of 2022, compared with $11.8 million for the fourth quarter of 2021, resulting from a cyclical decrease in volume that is historically lower in the first quarter each year. Other noninterest income increased $3.7 million, or 44.5%, in the first quarter of 2022 to $12.0 million, compared with $8.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2021, primarily as a result of a $2.6 million impact from the newly acquired Balboa Capital. Also contributing to the increase were increases in gains on sale of SBA loans of $761,000 and merchant fee income of $287,000.
Noninterest Expense Noninterest expense increased $5.5 million, or 3.9%, to $143.8 million during the first quarter of 2022, compared with $138.4 million for the fourth quarter of 2021. During the first quarter of 2022, the Company recorded merger and conversion charges of $977,000 and a net gain of $6,000 related to bank premises, compared with a net gain on bank premises of $126,000 and merger and conversion charges of $4.0 million during the fourth quarter of 2021. Excluding these charges, adjusted expenses increased approximately $8.4 million, or 6.2%, to $142.8 million in the first quarter of 2022, from $134.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2021. The increase in adjusted expenses resulted from absorbing a full quarter of Balboa expenses (acquired in December 2021) and cyclical payroll tax and 401(k) expenses, partially offset by the decrease in mortgage banking expenses.
As shown in the table below, the Company continued to show discipline in noninterest expense control, as all other noninterest expenses increased less than 1%:
Three Months Ended
March 31, 2022
December 31, 2021
Change
Balboa Expenses
$ 8,475
$ 1,350
$ 7,125
Payroll Taxes
4,244
1,506
2,738
401(k) Matching Contributions
1,714
494
1,220
Mortgage Expenses
46,902
50,380
(3,478)
All Other Noninterest Expenses
81,514
80,742
772
Adjusted Noninterest Expense
$ 142,849
$ 134,472
$ 8,377
The additional cyclical payroll expenses caused the adjusted efficiency ratio to increase to 56.95% in the first quarter of 2022, compared with 54.85% in the fourth quarter of 2021.
Income Tax Expense The Company's effective tax rate for the first quarter of 2022 was 25.3%, compared with 23.8% in the fourth quarter of 2021. The increased rate for the first quarter of 2022 was primarily a result of a discrete charge to the Company's state tax liability and an increase in nondeductible merger expenses in the first quarter of 2022.
Balance Sheet Trends Total assets at March 31, 2022 were $23.56 billion, compared with $23.86 billion at December 31, 2021. Loans, net of unearned income, increased $269.5 million, or 6.8% annualized, to $16.14 billion at March 31, 2022, compared with $15.87 billion at December 31, 2021. As anticipated with seasonal mortgage activity, loans held for sale decreased $353.1 million from $1.25 billion at December 31, 2021 to $901.6 million at March 31, 2022. Loan production in the banking division during the first quarter of 2022 totaled $805.5 million, down 30% from the fourth quarter of 2021 and up 34% from the first quarter of 2021.
At March 31, 2022, total deposits amounted to $19.59 billion, or 97.3% of total funding, compared with $19.67 billion and 95.8%, respectively, at December 31, 2021. At March 31, 2022, noninterest-bearing deposit accounts were $7.87 billion, or 40.2% of total deposits, compared with $7.77 billion, or 39.5% of total deposits, at December 31, 2021. Non-rate sensitive deposits (including noninterest-bearing, NOW and savings) totaled $12.62 billion at March 31, 2022, compared with $12.52 billion at December 31, 2021. These funds represented 64.4% of the Company's total deposits at March 31, 2022, compared with 63.6% at the end of 2021, which continues to positively impact the cost of funds sensitivity in a rising rate environment.
Shareholders' equity at March 31, 2022 totaled $3.01 billion, an increase of $40.7 million, or 1.4%, from December 31, 2021. The increase in shareholders' equity was primarily the result of earnings of $81.7 million during the first quarter of 2022, partially offset by dividends declared, share repurchases and the impact to other comprehensive income resulting from rising rates on our investment portfolio. The Company repurchased 312,860 shares of the Company's common stock at a cost of $14.6 million during the first quarter of 2022. The Company recorded dilution of $0.25 per share, or less than 1%, to tangible book value this quarter from other comprehensive income related to the decrease in unrealized gains on the securities portfolio. Tangible book value per share was $26.84 at March 31, 2022, compared with $26.26 at December 31, 2021. Tangible common equity as a percentage of tangible assets was 8.32% at March 31, 2022, compared with 8.05% at the end of 2021.
Credit Quality Credit quality remains strong in the Company. During the first quarter of 2022, the Company recorded a provision for credit losses of $6.2 million, compared with a provision of $2.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2021. This provision was primarily attributable to growth in unfunded commitments, partially offset by an improvement in expected credit losses on loans. Nonperforming assets as a percentage of total assets increased four basis points to 0.47% during the quarter. This increase was attributable to rebooked GNMA loans which the Company has the right, but not the obligation to repurchase. The net charge-off ratio was nine basis points for the first quarter of 2022, compared with negative one basis point in the fourth quarter of 2021 and 12 basis points in the first quarter of 2021.
Conference Call The Company will host a teleconference at 9:00 a.m. Eastern time on Wednesday, April 27, 2022, to discuss the Company's results and answer appropriate questions. The conference call can be accessed by dialing 1-844-200-6205 (or 1-929-526-1599 for international participants). The conference call access code is 418399. A replay of the call will be available one hour after the end of the conference call until May 11, 2022. To listen to the replay, dial 1-866-813-9403. The conference replay access code is 542280. The financial information discussed will also be available on the Investor Relations page of the Ameris Bank website at ir.amerisbank.com.
About Ameris Bancorp Ameris Bancorp is a bank holding company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The Company's banking subsidiary, Ameris Bank, had 165 locations in Georgia, Alabama, Florida, North Carolina and South Carolina at the end of the most recent quarter.
This news release contains certain performance measures determined by methods other than in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("GAAP"). The Company's management uses these non-GAAP measures in its analysis of the Company's performance. These measures are useful when evaluating the underlying performance and efficiency of the Company's operations and balance sheet. The Company's management believes that these non-GAAP measures provide a greater understanding of ongoing operations, enhance comparability of results with prior periods and demonstrate the effects of significant gains and charges in the current period. The Company's management believes that investors may use these non-GAAP financial measures to evaluate the Company's financial performance without the impact of unusual items that may obscure trends in the Company's underlying performance. These disclosures should not be viewed as a substitute for financial measures determined in accordance with GAAP, nor are they necessarily comparable to non-GAAP performance measures that may be presented by other companies.
This news release contains forward-looking statements, as defined by federal securities laws, including, among other forward-looking statements, certain plans, expectations and goals. Words such as "may," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "will," "should," "plan," "estimate," "predict," "continue" and "potential" or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology, as well as similar expressions, are meant to identify forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this news release are based on current expectations and are provided to assist in the understanding of potential future performance. Such forward-looking statements involve numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in any such statements, including, without limitation, the following: general competitive, economic, unemployment, political and market conditions and fluctuations, including real estate market conditions, and the effects of such conditions and fluctuations on the creditworthiness of borrowers, collateral values, asset recovery values and the value of investment securities; movements in interest rates and their impacts on net interest margin; expectations on credit quality and performance; legislative and regulatory changes; changes in U.S. government monetary and fiscal policy; the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the general economy, our customers and the allowance for loan losses; the benefits that may be realized by our customers from government assistance programs and regulatory actions related to the COVID-19 pandemic; the potential impact of the phase-out of the London Interbank Offered Rate ("LIBOR") or other changes involving LIBOR; competitive pressures on product pricing and services; the cost savings and any revenue synergies expected to result from acquisition transactions, which may not be fully realized within the expected timeframes if at all; the success and timing of other business strategies; our outlook and long-term goals for future growth; and natural disasters, geopolitical events, acts of war or terrorism or other hostilities, public health crises and other catastrophic events beyond our control. For a discussion of some of the other risks and other factors that may cause such forward-looking statements to differ materially from actual results, please refer to the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 and the Company's subsequently filed periodic reports and other filings. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements.
AMERIS BANCORP AND SUBSIDIARIES
FINANCIAL TABLES
Financial Highlights
Table 1
Three Months Ended
Mar
Dec
Sep
Jun
Mar
(dollars in thousands except per share data)
2022
2021
2021
2021
2021
EARNINGS
Net income
$ 81,698
$ 81,944
$ 81,680
$ 88,327
$ 124,962
Adjusted net income
$ 75,039
$ 81,544
$ 83,861
$ 87,548
$ 115,746
COMMON SHARE DATA
Earnings per share available to common shareholders
Basic
$ 1.18
$ 1.18
$ 1.18
$ 1.27
$ 1.80
Diluted
$ 1.17
$ 1.18
$ 1.17
$ 1.27
$ 1.79
Adjusted diluted EPS
$ 1.08
$ 1.17
$ 1.20
$ 1.25
$ 1.66
Cash dividends per share
$ 0.15
$ 0.15
$ 0.15
$ 0.15
$ 0.15
Book value per share (period end)
$ 43.31
$ 42.62
$ 41.66
$ 40.66
$ 39.56
Tangible book value per share (period end)
$ 26.84
$ 26.26
$ 27.46
$ 26.45
$ 25.27
Weighted average number of shares
Basic
69,345,735
69,398,594
69,439,845
69,496,666
69,391,734
Diluted
69,660,990
69,738,426
69,756,135
69,791,670
69,740,860
Period end number of shares
69,439,084
69,609,228
69,635,435
69,767,209
69,713,426
Market data
High intraday price
$ 55.62
$ 56.64
$ 53.63
$ 59.85
$ 57.81
Low intraday price
$ 43.56
$ 46.20
$ 44.92
$ 47.44
$ 36.60
Period end closing price
$ 43.88
$ 49.68
$ 51.88
$ 50.63
$ 52.51
Average daily volume
471,858
350,119
392,533
429,233
460,744
PERFORMANCE RATIOS
Return on average assets
1.42%
1.41%
1.47%
1.64%
2.44%
Adjusted return on average assets
1.31%
1.40%
1.51%
1.63%
2.26%
Return on average common equity
11.06%
11.06%
11.27%
12.66%
18.80%
Adjusted return on average tangible common equity
16.38%
16.88%
17.65%
19.46%
27.66%
Earning asset yield (TE)
3.56%
3.39%
3.44%
3.58%
3.85%
Total cost of funds
0.22%
0.23%
0.24%
0.26%
0.30%
Net interest margin (TE)
3.35%
3.18%
3.22%
3.34%
3.57%
Noninterest income excluding securities transactions, as a percent of total revenue (TE)
32.05%
31.31%
30.32%
33.78%
39.71%
Efficiency ratio
55.43%
55.66%
57.59%
54.07%
52.59%
Adjusted efficiency ratio (TE)
56.95%
54.85%
56.56%
54.07%
54.62%
CAPITAL ADEQUACY (period end)
Shareholders' equity to assets
12.76%
12.43%
12.87%
12.96%
12.87%
Tangible common equity to tangible assets
8.32%
8.05%
8.88%
8.83%
8.62%
EQUITY TO ASSETS RECONCILIATION
Tangible common equity to tangible assets
8.32%
8.05%
8.88%
8.83%
8.62%
Effect of goodwill and other intangibles
4.44%
4.38%
3.99%
4.13%
4.25%
Equity to assets (GAAP)
12.76%
12.43%
12.87%
12.96%
12.87%
OTHER DATA (period end)
Full time equivalent employees
Banking Division
2,033
2,008
1,821
1,817
1,815
Retail Mortgage Division
714
739
749
759
765
Warehouse Lending Division
10
12
12
12
12
SBA Division
35
34
29
30
29
Premium Finance Division
77
72
67
68
70
Total Ameris Bancorp FTE headcount
2,869
2,865
2,678
2,686
2,691
Assets per Banking Division FTE
$ 11,589
$ 11,882
$ 12,374
$ 12,046
$ 11,806
Branch locations
165
165
165
165
165
Deposits per branch location
$ 118,718
$ 119,185
$ 114,142
$ 110,655
$ 108,339
.
AMERIS BANCORP AND SUBSIDIARIES
FINANCIAL TABLES
Income Statement
Table 2
Three Months Ended
Mar
Dec
Sep
Jun
Mar
(dollars in thousands except per share data)
2022
2021
2021
2021
2021
Interest income
Interest and fees on loans
$ 177,566
$ 170,813
$ 166,358
$ 167,761
$ 171,157
Interest on taxable securities
4,239
5,866
5,296
5,244
6,118
Interest on nontaxable securities
186
156
139
139
141
Interest on deposits in other banks
1,373
1,521
1,244
595
522
Interest on federal funds sold
10
9
9
12
12
Total interest income
183,374
178,365
173,046
173,751
177,950
Interest expense
Interest on deposits
4,092
4,678
5,106
5,775
6,798
Interest on other borrowings
6,738
6,850
6,279
6,124
6,175
Total interest expense
10,830
11,528
11,385
11,899
12,973
Net interest income
172,544
166,837
161,661
161,852
164,977
Provision for loan losses
(2,734)
(13,619)
(3,984)
(899)
(16,579)
Provision for unfunded commitments
9,009
16,388
(5,516)
1,299
(11,839)
Provision for other credit losses
(44)
(10)
(175)
(258)
(173)
Provision for credit losses
6,231
2,759
(9,675)
142
(28,591)
Net interest income after provision for credit losses
166,313
164,078
171,336
161,710
193,568
Noninterest income
Service charges on deposit accounts
11,058
11,784
11,486
11,007
10,829
Mortgage banking activity
62,938
60,723
56,460
70,231
98,486
Other service charges, commissions and fees
939
962
1,154
1,056
1,016
Gain (loss) on securities
(27)
(4)
530
1
(12)
Other noninterest income
12,003
8,304
6,932
6,945
7,654
Total noninterest income
86,911
81,769
76,562
89,240
117,973
Noninterest expense
Salaries and employee benefits
84,281
76,615
79,671
85,505
95,985
Occupancy and equipment
12,727
13,494
11,979
10,812
11,781
Data processing and communications expenses
12,572
11,534
10,681
11,877
11,884
Credit resolution-related expenses(1)
(965)
1,992
377
622
547
Advertising and marketing
1,988
2,381
2,676
1,946
1,431
Amortization of intangible assets
5,181
3,387
3,387
4,065
4,126
Merger and conversion charges
977
4,023
183
—
—
Other noninterest expenses
27,059
24,943
28,242
20,934
23,044
Total noninterest expense
143,820
138,369
137,196
135,761
148,798
Income before income tax expense
109,404
107,478
110,702
115,189
162,743
Income tax expense
27,706
25,534
29,022
26,862
37,781
Net income
$ 81,698
$ 81,944
$ 81,680
$ 88,327
$ 124,962
Diluted earnings per common share
$ 1.17
$ 1.18
$ 1.17
$ 1.27
$ 1.79
(1) Includes expenses associated with problem loans and OREO, as well as OREO losses and writedowns.
AMERIS BANCORP AND SUBSIDIARIES
FINANCIAL TABLES
Period End Balance Sheet
Table 3
Mar
Dec
Sep
Jun
Mar
(dollars in thousands)
2022
2021
2021
2021
2021
Assets
Cash and due from banks
$ 257,316
$ 307,813
$ 239,028
$ 259,729
$ 224,159
Federal funds sold and interest-bearing deposits in banks
3,541,144
3,756,844
3,513,412
3,044,795
2,534,969
Time deposits in other banks
—
—
—
—
249
Investment securities available-for-sale, at fair value
579,204
592,621
684,504
778,167
859,652
Investment securities held-to-maturity, at amortized cost
91,454
79,850
64,451
29,055
—
Other investments
49,395
47,552
27,619
27,621
27,620
Loans held for sale
901,550
1,254,632
1,435,805
1,210,589
1,509,528
Loans, net of unearned income
16,143,801
15,874,258
14,824,539
14,780,791
14,599,805
Allowance for credit losses
(161,251)
(167,582)
(171,213)
(175,070)
(178,570)
Loans, net
15,982,550
15,706,676
14,653,326
14,605,721
14,421,235
Other real estate owned
1,910
3,810
4,594
5,775
8,841
Premises and equipment, net
224,293
225,400
226,430
229,994
231,550
Goodwill
1,022,345
1,012,620
928,005
928,005
928,005
Other intangible assets, net
120,757
125,938
60,396
63,783
67,848
Cash value of bank owned life insurance
332,914
331,146
279,389
277,839
176,575
Other assets
455,460
413,419
416,182
425,858
436,896
Total assets
$ 23,560,292
$ 23,858,321
$ 22,533,141
$ 21,886,931
$ 21,427,127
Liabilities
Deposits
Noninterest-bearing
$ 7,870,207
$ 7,774,823
$ 7,616,728
$ 6,983,761
$ 6,804,776
Interest-bearing
11,718,234
11,890,730
11,216,761
11,274,236
11,071,097
Total deposits
19,588,441
19,665,553
18,833,489
18,257,997
17,875,873
Federal funds purchased and securities sold under agreements to repurchase
2,065
5,845
4,502
5,544
9,320
Other borrowings
425,520
739,879
425,375
425,303
425,231
Subordinated deferrable interest debentures
126,827
126,328
125,830
125,331
124,833
Other liabilities
410,280
354,265
243,175
235,752
234,274
Total liabilities
20,553,133
20,891,870
19,632,371
19,049,927
18,669,531
Shareholders' Equity
Preferred stock
—
—
—
—
—
Common stock
72,212
72,017
72,016
72,008
71,954
Capital stock
1,928,702
1,924,813
1,922,964
1,920,566
1,917,990
Retained earnings
1,077,725
1,006,436
934,979
863,828
785,984
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax
(1,841)
15,590
21,885
25,024
26,090
Treasury stock
(69,639)
(52,405)
(51,074)
(44,422)
(44,422)
Total shareholders' equity
3,007,159
2,966,451
2,900,770
2,837,004
2,757,596
Total liabilities and shareholders' equity
$ 23,560,292
$ 23,858,321
$ 22,533,141
$ 21,886,931
$ 21,427,127
Other Data
Earning assets
$ 21,306,548
$ 21,605,757
$ 20,550,330
$ 19,871,018
$ 19,531,823
Intangible assets
1,143,102
1,138,558
988,401
991,788
995,853
Interest-bearing liabilities
12,272,646
12,762,782
11,772,468
11,830,414
11,630,481
Average assets
23,275,654
23,054,847
22,087,642
21,538,894
20,734,414
Average common shareholders' equity
2,994,652
2,939,507
2,874,691
2,798,269
2,695,005
AMERIS BANCORP AND SUBSIDIARIES
FINANCIAL TABLES
Asset Quality Information
Table 4
Three Months Ended
Mar
Dec
Sep
Jun
Mar
(dollars in thousands)
2022
2021
2021
2021
2021
Allowance for Credit Losses
Balance at beginning of period
$ 200,981
$ 188,234
$ 197,782
$ 200,241
$ 233,105
Acquired allowance for purchased credit deteriorated loans
—
9,432
—
—
—
Provision for loan losses
(2,734)
(13,619)
(3,984)
(899)
(16,579)
Provision for unfunded commitments
9,009
16,388
(5,516)
1,299
(11,839)
Provision for other credit losses
(44)
(10)
(175)
(258)
(173)
Provision for credit losses
6,231
2,759
(9,675)
142
(28,591)
Charge-offs
8,579
3,367
3,537
7,138
7,574
Recoveries
4,982
3,923
3,664
4,537
3,301
Net charge-offs
3,597
(556)
(127)
2,601
4,273
Ending balance
$ 203,615
$ 200,981
$ 188,234
$ 197,782
$ 200,241
Allowance for loan losses
$ 161,251
$ 167,582
$ 171,213
$ 175,070
$ 178,570
Allowance for unfunded commitments
42,194
33,185
16,797
22,313
21,014
Allowance for other credit losses
170
214
224
399
657
Total allowance for credit losses
$ 203,615
$ 200,981
$ 188,234
$ 197,782
$ 200,241
Net Charge-off Information
Charge-offs
Commercial, financial and agricultural
$ 4,414
$ 1,003
$ 858
$ 3,529
$ 2,370
Consumer installment
1,425
1,484
1,647
1,669
1,448
Indirect automobile
88
40
178
141
829
Premium Finance
1,369
526
605
1,194
1,343
Real estate - construction and development
—
21
—
186
26
Real estate - commercial and farmland
1,283
220
210
27
1,395
Real estate - residential
—
73
39
392
163
Total charge-offs
8,579
3,367
3,537
7,138
7,574
Recoveries
Commercial, financial and agricultural
2,896
2,389
1,986
625
727
Consumer installment
158
172
199
212
356
Indirect automobile
275
329
278
372
700
Premium Finance
1,247
633
649
2,466
1,122
Real estate - construction and development
218
210
45
84
167
Real estate - commercial and farmland
37
81
266
185
41
Real estate - residential
151
109
241
593
188
Total recoveries
4,982
3,923
3,664
4,537
3,301
Net charge-offs
$ 3,597
$ (556)
$ (127)
$ 2,601
$ 4,273
Non-Performing Assets
Nonaccrual loans
$ 102,597
$ 85,266
$ 58,932
$ 59,921
$ 71,189
Other real estate owned
1,910
3,810
4,594
5,775
8,841
Repossessed assets
139
84
152
226
840
Accruing loans delinquent 90 days or more
6,584
12,711
7,472
4,874
5,097
Total non-performing assets
$ 111,230
$ 101,871
$ 71,150
$ 70,796
$ 85,967
Asset Quality Ratios
Non-performing assets as a percent of total assets
0.47%
0.43%
0.32%
0.32%
0.40%
Net charge-offs as a percent of average loans (annualized)
0.09%
(0.01)%
—%
0.07%
0.12 %
AMERIS BANCORP AND SUBSIDIARIES
FINANCIAL TABLES
Loan Information
Table 5
Mar
Dec
Sep
Jun
Mar
(dollars in thousands)
2022
2021
2021
2021
2021
Loans by Type
Commercial, financial and agricultural
$ 1,836,663
$ 1,875,993
$ 1,217,575
$ 1,406,421
$ 1,611,029
Consumer installment
173,642
191,298
207,111
229,411
257,097
Indirect automobile
214,120
265,779
325,057
397,373
482,637
Mortgage warehouse
732,375
787,837
768,577
841,347
880,216
Municipal
547,926
572,701
624,430
647,578
659,228
Premium Finance
819,163
798,409
840,737
780,328
706,379
Real estate - construction and development
1,577,215
1,452,339
1,454,824
1,527,883
1,533,234
Real estate - commercial and farmland
6,924,475
6,834,917
6,409,704
6,051,472
5,616,826
Real estate - residential
3,318,222
3,094,985
2,976,524
2,898,978
2,853,159
Total loans
$ 16,143,801
$ 15,874,258
$ 14,824,539
$ 14,780,791
$ 14,599,805
Troubled Debt Restructurings
Accruing troubled debt restructurings
Commercial, financial and agricultural
$ 868
$ 1,286
$ 1,683
$ 1,038
$ 930
Consumer installment
13
16
22
28
27
Indirect automobile
893
1,037
1,284
1,647
1,931
Premium Finance
162
—
—
—
—
Real estate - construction and development
725
789
887
898
501
Real estate - commercial and farmland
17,161
35,575
43,895
46,025
43,398
Real estate - residential
24,664
26,879
29,521
31,570
33,324
Total accruing troubled debt restructurings
$ 44,486
$ 65,582
$ 77,292
$ 81,206
$ 80,111
Nonaccrual troubled debt restructurings
Commercial, financial and agricultural
$ 72
$ 83
$ 112
$ 805
$ 854
Consumer installment
31
35
38
43
53
Indirect automobile
221
273
297
301
321
Real estate - construction and development
11
13
271
301
706
Real estate - commercial and farmland
788
5,924
6,715
7,103
2,233
Real estate - residential
4,341
4,678
2,687
2,515
2,818
Total nonaccrual troubled debt restructurings
$ 5,464
$ 11,006
$ 10,120
$ 11,068
$ 6,985
Total troubled debt restructurings
$ 49,950
$ 76,588
$ 87,412
$ 92,274
$ 87,096
Loans by Risk Grade
Grades 1 through 5 - Pass
$ 15,899,956
$ 15,614,323
$ 14,562,058
$ 14,477,905
$ 14,204,219
Grade 6 - Other assets especially mentioned
51,670
78,957
87,757
100,750
135,213
Grade 7 - Substandard
192,175
180,978
174,724
202,134
260,369
Grade 8 - Doubtful
—
—
—
—
—
Grade 9 - Loss
—
—
—
2
4
Total loans
$ 16,143,801
$ 15,874,258
$ 14,824,539
$ 14,780,791
$ 14,599,805
AMERIS BANCORP AND SUBSIDIARIES
FINANCIAL TABLES
Average Balances
Table 6
Three Months Ended
Mar
Dec
Sep
Jun
Mar
(dollars in thousands)
2022
2021
2021
2021
2021
Earning Assets
Federal funds sold
$ 20,000
$ 20,000
$ 20,000
$ 20,000
$ 20,000
Interest-bearing deposits in banks
3,393,238
3,719,878
3,082,413
2,461,092
2,145,403
Time deposits in other banks
—
—
—
244
249
Investment securities - taxable
623,498
698,915
757,278
811,234
910,834
Investment securities - nontaxable
29,605
22,639
19,053
18,225
19,225
Other investments
47,872
31,312
27,622
27,620
27,516
Loans held for sale
1,097,098
1,365,886
1,497,320
1,705,167
1,284,821
Loans
15,821,397
15,119,752
14,685,878
14,549,104
14,453,975
Total Earning Assets
$ 21,032,708
$ 20,978,382
$ 20,089,564
$ 19,592,686
$ 18,862,023
Deposits
Noninterest-bearing deposits
$ 7,658,451
$ 7,600,284
$ 7,168,717
$ 6,874,471
$ 6,412,268
NOW accounts
3,684,772
3,651,595
3,447,909
3,314,334
3,182,245
MMDA
5,240,922
5,209,653
4,966,492
4,872,500
4,761,279
Savings accounts
973,724
928,954
908,189
876,887
823,039
Retail CDs
1,774,016
1,827,852
1,919,184
2,005,265
2,066,410
Brokered CDs
—
—
511
1,000
1,000
Total Deposits
19,331,885
19,218,338
18,411,002
17,944,457
17,246,241
Non-Deposit Funding
Federal funds purchased and securities sold under agreements to repurchase
4,020
5,559
5,133
6,883
9,284
FHLB advances
48,786
48,828
48,866
48,910
48,951
Other borrowings
443,657
468,058
376,489
376,376
376,260
Subordinated deferrable interest debentures
126,563
126,067
125,567
125,068
124,574
Total Non-Deposit Funding
623,026
648,512
556,055
557,237
559,069
Total Funding
$ 19,954,911
$ 19,866,850
$ 18,967,057
$ 18,501,694
$ 17,805,310
AMERIS BANCORP AND SUBSIDIARIES
FINANCIAL TABLES
Interest Income and Interest Expense (TE)
Table 7
Three Months Ended
Mar
Dec
Sep
Jun
Mar
(dollars in thousands)
2022
2021
2021
2021
2021
Interest Income
Federal funds sold
$ 10
$ 9
$ 9
$ 12
$ 12
Interest-bearing deposits in banks
1,373
1,521
1,244
594
521
Time deposits in other banks
—
—
—
1
1
Investment securities - taxable
4,239
5,866
5,296
5,244
6,118
Investment securities - nontaxable (TE)
235
198
176
176
178
Loans held for sale
8,132
9,433
10,618
11,773
10,827
Loans (TE)
170,398
162,415
156,861
157,112
161,473
Total Earning Assets
$ 184,387
$ 179,442
$ 174,204
$ 174,912
$ 179,130
Accretion income (included above)
$ 1,006
$ 2,812
$ 2,948
$ 4,462
$ 6,127
Interest Expense
Interest-Bearing Deposits
NOW accounts
$ 824
$ 864
$ 808
$ 816
$ 926
MMDA
1,643
1,971
1,970
1,908
1,998
Savings accounts
133
128
129
122
124
Retail CDs
1,492
1,715
2,195
2,921
3,744
Brokered CDs
—
—
4
8
6
Total Interest-Bearing Deposits
4,092
4,678
5,106
5,775
6,798
Non-Deposit Funding
Federal funds purchased and securities sold under agreements to repurchase
3
4
4
5
7
FHLB advances
190
195
195
193
192
Other borrowings
5,164
5,317
4,640
4,683
4,638
Subordinated deferrable interest debentures
1,381
1,334
1,440
1,243
1,338
Total Non-Deposit Funding
6,738
6,850
6,279
6,124
6,175
Total Interest-Bearing Funding
$ 10,830
$ 11,528
$ 11,385
$ 11,899
$ 12,973
Net Interest Income (TE)
$ 173,557
$ 167,914
$ 162,819
$ 163,013
$ 166,157
AMERIS BANCORP AND SUBSIDIARIES
FINANCIAL TABLES
Yields(1)
Table 8
Three Months Ended
Mar
Dec
Sep
Jun
Mar
2022
2021
2021
2021
2021
Earning Assets
Federal funds sold
0.20%
0.18%
0.18%
0.24%
0.24%
Interest-bearing deposits in banks
0.16%
0.16%
0.16%
0.10%
0.10%
Time deposits in other banks
—%
—%
—%
1.64%
1.63%
Investment securities - taxable
2.76%
3.33%
2.77%
2.59%
2.72%
Investment securities - nontaxable (TE)
3.22%
3.47%
3.66%
3.87%
3.75%
Loans held for sale
3.01%
2.74%
2.81%
2.77%
3.42%
Loans (TE)
4.37%
4.26%
4.24%
4.33%
4.53%
Total Earning Assets
3.56%
3.39%
3.44%
3.58%
3.85%
Interest-Bearing Deposits
NOW accounts
0.09%
0.09%
0.09%
0.10%
0.12%
MMDA
0.13%
0.15%
0.16%
0.16%
0.17%
Savings accounts
0.06%
0.05%
0.06%
0.06%
0.06%
Retail CDs
0.34%
0.37%
0.45%
0.58%
0.73%
Brokered CDs
—%
—%
3.11%
3.21%
2.43%
Total Interest-Bearing Deposits
0.14%
0.16%
0.18%
0.21%
0.25%
Non-Deposit Funding
Federal funds purchased and securities sold under agreements to repurchase
0.30%
0.29%
0.31%
0.29%
0.31%
FHLB advances
1.58%
1.58%
1.58%
1.58%
1.59%
Other borrowings
4.72%
4.51%
4.89%
4.99%
5.00%
Subordinated deferrable interest debentures
4.43%
4.20%
4.55%
3.99%
4.36%
Total Non-Deposit Funding
4.39%
4.19%
4.48%
4.41%
4.48%
Total Interest-Bearing Liabilities
0.36%
0.37%
0.38%
0.41%
0.46%
Net Interest Spread
3.20%
3.02%
3.06%
3.17%
3.39%
Net Interest Margin(2)
3.35%
3.18%
3.22%
3.34%
3.57%
Total Cost of Funds(3)
0.22%
0.23%
0.24%
0.26%
0.30%
(1) Interest and average rates are calculated on a tax-equivalent basis using an effective tax rate of 21%.
(2) Rate calculated based on average earning assets.
(3) Rate calculated based on total average funding including noninterest-bearing deposits.
AMERIS BANCORP AND SUBSIDIARIES
FINANCIAL TABLES
Non-GAAP Reconciliations
Adjusted Net Income
Table 9A
Three Months Ended
Mar
Dec
Sep
Jun
Mar
(dollars in thousands except per share data)
2022
2021
2021
2021
2021
Net income available to common shareholders
$ 81,698
$ 81,944
$ 81,680
$ 88,327
$ 124,962
Adjustment items:
Merger and conversion charges
977
4,023
183
—
—
Servicing right impairment (recovery)
(9,654)
(4,540)
1,398
(749)
(10,639)
Gain on BOLI proceeds
—
—
—
—
(603)
(Gain) loss on bank premises
(6)
(126)
1,136
(236)
(264)
Tax effect of adjustment items (Note 1)
2,024
243
(536)
206
2,290
After tax adjustment items
(6,659)
(400)
2,181
(779)
(9,216)
Adjusted net income
$ 75,039
$ 81,544
$ 83,861
$ 87,548
$ 115,746
Weighted average number of shares - diluted
69,660,990
69,738,426
69,756,135
69,791,670
69,740,860
Net income per diluted share
$ 1.17
$ 1.18
$ 1.17
$ 1.27
$ 1.79
Adjusted net income per diluted share
$ 1.08
$ 1.17
$ 1.20
$ 1.25
$ 1.66
Average assets
$ 23,275.654
$ 23,054.847
$ 22,087.642
$ 21,538,894
$ 20,734,414
Return on average assets
1.42%
1.41%
1.47%
1.64%
2.44%
Adjusted return on average assets
1.31%
1.40%
1.51%
1.63%
2.26%
Average common equity
$ 2,994.652
$ 2,939.507
$ 2,874.691
$ 2,798,269
$ 2,695,005
Average tangible common equity
$ 1,857,713
$ 1,916,783
$ 1,884,622
$ 1,804,324
$ 1,696,946
Return on average common equity
11.06%
11.06%
11.27%
12.66%
18.80%
Adjusted return on average tangible common equity
16.38%
16.88%
17.65%
19.46%
27.66%
Note 1: Tax effect is calculated utilizing a 21% rate for taxable adjustments. Gain on BOLI proceeds is non-taxable and no tax effect is included. A portion of the merger and conversion charges for 1Q22, 4Q21 and 3Q21 are nondeductible for tax purposes.
Mandating COVID-19 vaccination was a mistake due to ethical and other concerns, a top government doctor warned Dr. Anthony Fauci after Dr. Fauci promoted mass vaccination.
“Coercing or forcing people to take a vaccine can have negative consequences from a biological, sociological, psychological, economical, and ethical standpoint and is not worth the cost even if the vaccine is 100% safe,” Dr. Matthew Memoli, director of the Laboratory of Infectious Diseases clinical studies unit at the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), told Dr. Fauci in an email.
“A more prudent approach that considers these issues would be to focus our efforts on those at high risk of severe disease and death, such as the elderly and obese, and do not push vaccination on the young and healthy any further.”
Employing that strategy would help prevent loss of public trust and political capital, Dr. Memoli said.
The email was sent on July 30, 2021, after Dr. Fauci, director of the NIAID, claimed that communities would be safer if more people received one of the COVID-19 vaccines and that mass vaccination would lead to the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We’re on a really good track now to really crush this outbreak, and the more people we get vaccinated, the more assuredness that we’re going to have that we’re going to be able to do that,” Dr. Fauci said on CNN the month prior.
Dr. Memoli, who has studied influenza vaccination for years, disagreed, telling Dr. Fauci that research in the field has indicated yearly shots sometimes drive the evolution of influenza.
Vaccinating people who have not been infected with COVID-19, he said, could potentially impact the evolution of the virus that causes COVID-19 in unexpected ways.
“At best what we are doing with mandated mass vaccination does nothing and the variants emerge evading immunity anyway as they would have without the vaccine,” Dr. Memoli wrote. “At worst it drives evolution of the virus in a way that is different from nature and possibly detrimental, prolonging the pandemic or causing more morbidity and mortality than it should.”
The vaccination strategy was flawed because it relied on a single antigen, introducing immunity that only lasted for a certain period of time, Dr. Memoli said. When the immunity weakened, the virus was given an opportunity to evolve.
Some other experts, including virologist Geert Vanden Bossche, have offered similar views. Others in the scientific community, such as U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention scientists, say vaccination prevents virus evolution, though the agency has acknowledged it doesn’t have records supporting its position.
Other Messages
Dr. Memoli sent the email to Dr. Fauci and two other top NIAID officials, Drs. Hugh Auchincloss and Clifford Lane. The message was first reported by the Wall Street Journal, though the publication did not publish the message. The Epoch Times obtained the email and 199 other pages of Dr. Memoli’s emails through a Freedom of Information Act request. There were no indications that Dr. Fauci ever responded to Dr. Memoli.
Later in 2021, the NIAID’s parent agency, the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), and all other federal government agencies began requiring COVID-19 vaccination, under direction from President Joe Biden.
In other messages, Dr. Memoli said the mandates were unethical and that he was hopeful legal cases brought against the mandates would ultimately let people “make their own healthcare decisions.”
“I am certainly doing everything in my power to influence that,” he wrote on Nov. 2, 2021, to an unknown recipient. Dr. Memoli also disclosed that both he and his wife had applied for exemptions from the mandates imposed by the NIH and his wife’s employer. While her request had been granted, his had not as of yet, Dr. Memoli said. It’s not clear if it ever was.
According to Dr. Memoli, officials had not gone over the bioethics of the mandates. He wrote to the NIH’s Department of Bioethics, pointing out that the protection from the vaccines waned over time, that the shots can cause serious health issues such as myocarditis, or heart inflammation, and that vaccinated people were just as likely to spread COVID-19 as unvaccinated people.
He cited multiple studies in his emails, including one that found a resurgence of COVID-19 cases in a California health care system despite a high rate of vaccination and another that showed transmission rates were similar among the vaccinated and unvaccinated.
Dr. Memoli said he was “particularly interested in the bioethics of a mandate when the vaccine doesn’t have the ability to stop spread of the disease, which is the purpose of the mandate.”
The message led to Dr. Memoli speaking during an NIH event in December 2021, several weeks after he went public with his concerns about mandating vaccines.
“Vaccine mandates should be rare and considered only with a strong justification,” Dr. Memoli said in the debate. He suggested that the justification was not there for COVID-19 vaccines, given their fleeting effectiveness.
Julie Ledgerwood, another NIAID official who also spoke at the event, said that the vaccines were highly effective and that the side effects that had been detected were not significant. She did acknowledge that vaccinated people needed boosters after a period of time.
The NIH, and many other government agencies, removed their mandates in 2023 with the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency.
A request for comment from Dr. Fauci was not returned. Dr. Memoli told The Epoch Times in an email he was “happy to answer any questions you have” but that he needed clearance from the NIAID’s media office. That office then refused to give clearance.
Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, a professor of health policy at Stanford University, said that Dr. Memoli showed bravery when he warned Dr. Fauci against mandates.
“Those mandates have done more to demolish public trust in public health than any single action by public health officials in my professional career, including diminishing public trust in all vaccines.” Dr. Bhattacharya, a frequent critic of the U.S. response to COVID-19, told The Epoch Times via email. “It was risky for Dr. Memoli to speak publicly since he works at the NIH, and the culture of the NIH punishes those who cross powerful scientific bureaucrats like Dr. Fauci or his former boss, Dr. Francis Collins.”
President Joe Biden claimed that COVID vaccines are now helping cancer patients during his State of the Union address on March 7, but it was a response on Truth Social from former President Donald Trump that drew the ire of independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
During the address, President Biden said: “The pandemic no longer controls our lives. The vaccines that saved us from COVID are now being used to help beat cancer, turning setback into comeback. That’s what America does.”
President Trump wrote: “The Pandemic no longer controls our lives. The VACCINES that saved us from COVID are now being used to help beat cancer—turning setback into comeback. YOU’RE WELCOME JOE. NINE-MONTH APPROVAL TIME VS. 12 YEARS THAT IT WOULD HAVE TAKEN YOU.”
An outspoken critic of President Trump’s COVID response, and the Operation Warp Speed program that escalated the availability of COVID vaccines, Mr. Kennedy said on X, formerly known as Twitter, that “Donald Trump clearly hasn’t learned from his COVID-era mistakes.”
“He fails to recognize how ineffective his warp speed vaccine is as the ninth shot is being recommended to seniors. Even more troubling is the documented harm being caused by the shot to so many innocent children and adults who are suffering myocarditis, pericarditis, and brain inflammation,” Mr. Kennedy remarked.
“This has been confirmed by a CDC-funded study of 99 million people. Instead of bragging about its speedy approval, we should be honestly and transparently debating the abundant evidence that this vaccine may have caused more harm than good.
“I look forward to debating both Trump and Biden on Sept. 16 in San Marcos, Texas.”
Mr. Kennedy announced in April 2023 that he would challenge President Biden for the 2024 Democratic Party presidential nomination before declaring his run as an independent last October, claiming that the Democrat National Committee was “rigging the primary.”
Since the early stages of his campaign, Mr. Kennedy has generated more support than pundits expected from conservatives, moderates, and independents resulting in speculation that he could take votes away from President Trump.
Many Republicans continue to seek a reckoning over the government-imposed pandemic lockdowns and vaccine mandates.
President Trump’s defense of Operation Warp Speed, the program he rolled out in May 2020 to spur the development and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines amid the pandemic, remains a sticking point for some of his supporters.
Operation Warp Speed featured a partnership between the government, the military, and the private sector, with the government paying for millions of vaccine doses to be produced.
President Trump released a statement in March 2021 saying: “I hope everyone remembers when they’re getting the COVID-19 Vaccine, that if I wasn’t President, you wouldn’t be getting that beautiful ‘shot’ for 5 years, at best, and probably wouldn’t be getting it at all. I hope everyone remembers!”
President Trump said about the COVID-19 vaccine in an interview on Fox News in March 2021: “It works incredibly well. Ninety-five percent, maybe even more than that. I would recommend it, and I would recommend it to a lot of people that don’t want to get it and a lot of those people voted for me, frankly.
“But again, we have our freedoms and we have to live by that and I agree with that also. But it’s a great vaccine, it’s a safe vaccine, and it’s something that works.”
On many occasions, President Trump has said that he is not in favor of vaccine mandates.
An environmental attorney, Mr. Kennedy founded Children’s Health Defense, a nonprofit that aims to end childhood health epidemics by promoting vaccine safeguards, among other initiatives.
Last year, Mr. Kennedy told podcaster Joe Rogan that ivermectin was suppressed by the FDA so that the COVID-19 vaccines could be granted emergency use authorization.
He has criticized Big Pharma, vaccine safety, and government mandates for years.
Since launching his presidential campaign, Mr. Kennedy has made his stances on the COVID-19 vaccines, and vaccines in general, a frequent talking point.
“I would argue that the science is very clear right now that they [vaccines] caused a lot more problems than they averted,” Mr. Kennedy said on Piers Morgan Uncensored last April.
“And if you look at the countries that did not vaccinate, they had the lowest death rates, they had the lowest COVID and infection rates.”
Additional data show a “direct correlation” between excess deaths and high vaccination rates in developed countries, he said.
President Trump and Mr. Kennedy have similar views on topics like protecting the U.S.-Mexico border and ending the Russia-Ukraine war.
COVID-19 is the topic where Mr. Kennedy and President Trump seem to differ the most.
Former President Donald Trump intended to “drain the swamp” when he took office in 2017, but he was “intimidated by bureaucrats” at federal agencies and did not accomplish that objective, Mr. Kennedy said on Feb. 5.
Speaking at a voter rally in Tucson, where he collected signatures to get on the Arizona ballot, the independent presidential candidate said President Trump was “earnest” when he vowed to “drain the swamp,” but it was “business as usual” during his term.
John Bolton, who President Trump appointed as a national security adviser, is “the template for a swamp creature,” Mr. Kennedy said.
Scott Gottlieb, who President Trump named to run the FDA, “was Pfizer’s business partner” and eventually returned to Pfizer, Mr. Kennedy said.
Mr. Kennedy said that President Trump had more lobbyists running federal agencies than any president in U.S. history.
“You can’t reform them when you’ve got the swamp creatures running them, and I’m not going to do that. I’m going to do something different,” Mr. Kennedy said.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, President Trump “did not ask the questions that he should have,” he believes.
President Trump “knew that lockdowns were wrong” and then “agreed to lockdowns,” Mr. Kennedy said.
He also “knew that hydroxychloroquine worked, he said it,” Mr. Kennedy explained, adding that he was eventually “rolled over” by Dr. Anthony Fauci and his advisers.
MaryJo Perry, a longtime advocate for vaccine choice and a Trump supporter, thinks votes will be at a premium come Election Day, particularly because the independent and third-party field is becoming more competitive.
Ms. Perry, president of Mississippi Parents for Vaccine Rights, believes advocates for medical freedom could determine who is ultimately president.
She believes that Mr. Kennedy is “pulling votes from Trump” because of the former president’s stance on the vaccines.
“People care about medical freedom. It’s an important issue here in Mississippi, and across the country,” Ms. Perry told The Epoch Times.
“Trump should admit he was wrong about Operation Warp Speed and that COVID vaccines have been dangerous. That would make a difference among people he has offended.”
President Trump won’t lose enough votes to Mr. Kennedy about Operation Warp Speed and COVID vaccines to have a significant impact on the election, Ohio Republican strategist Wes Farno told The Epoch Times.
President Trump won in Ohio by eight percentage points in both 2016 and 2020. The Ohio Republican Party endorsed President Trump for the nomination in 2024.
“The positives of a Trump presidency far outweigh the negatives,” Mr. Farno said. “People are more concerned about their wallet and the economy.
“They are asking themselves if they were better off during President Trump’s term compared to since President Biden took office. The answer to that question is obvious because many Americans are struggling to afford groceries, gas, mortgages, and rent payments.
“America needs President Trump.”
Multiple national polls back Mr. Farno’s view.
As of March 6, the RealClearPolitics average of polls indicates that President Trump has 41.8 percent support in a five-way race that includes President Biden (38.4 percent), Mr. Kennedy (12.7 percent), independent Cornel West (2.6 percent), and Green Party nominee Jill Stein (1.7 percent).
A Pew Research Center study conducted among 10,133 U.S. adults from Feb. 7 to Feb. 11 showed that Democrats and Democrat-leaning independents (42 percent) are more likely than Republicans and GOP-leaning independents (15 percent) to say they have received an updated COVID vaccine.
The poll also reported that just 28 percent of adults say they have received the updated COVID inoculation.
The peer-reviewed multinational study of more than 99 million vaccinated people that Mr. Kennedy referenced in his X post on March 7 was published in the Vaccine journal on Feb. 12.
It aimed to evaluate the risk of 13 adverse events of special interest (AESI) following COVID-19 vaccination. The AESIs spanned three categories—neurological, hematologic (blood), and cardiovascular.
The study reviewed data collected from more than 99 million vaccinated people from eight nations—Argentina, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, New Zealand, and Scotland—looking at risks up to 42 days after getting the shots.
Three vaccines—Pfizer and Moderna’s mRNA vaccines as well as AstraZeneca’s viral vector jab—were examined in the study.
Researchers found higher-than-expected cases that they deemed met the threshold to be potential safety signals for multiple AESIs, including for Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS), cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST), myocarditis, and pericarditis.
A safety signal refers to information that could suggest a potential risk or harm that may be associated with a medical product.
The study identified higher incidences of neurological, cardiovascular, and blood disorder complications than what the researchers expected.
President Trump’s role in Operation Warp Speed, and his continued praise of the COVID vaccine, remains a concern for some voters, including those who still support him.
Krista Cobb is a 40-year-old mother in western Ohio. She voted for President Trump in 2020 and said she would cast her vote for him this November, but she was stunned when she saw his response to President Biden about the COVID-19 vaccine during the State of the Union address.
“I love President Trump and support his policies, but at this point, he has to know they [advisers and health officials] lied about the shot,” Ms. Cobb told The Epoch Times.
“If he continues to promote it, especially after all of the hearings they’ve had about it in Congress, the side effects, and cover-ups on Capitol Hill, at what point does he become the same as the people who have lied?” Ms. Cobb added.
“I think he should distance himself from talk about Operation Warp Speed and even admit that he was wrong—that the vaccines have not had the impact he was told they would have. If he did that, people would respect him even more.”
BUFFALO, NY- March 11, 2024 – Impact Journals publishes scholarly journals in the biomedical sciences with a focus on all areas of cancer and aging research. Aging is one of the most prominent journals published by Impact Journals.
Credit: Impact Journals
BUFFALO, NY- March 11, 2024 – Impact Journals publishes scholarly journals in the biomedical sciences with a focus on all areas of cancer and aging research. Aging is one of the most prominent journals published by Impact Journals.
Impact Journals will be participating as an exhibitor at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2024 from April 5-10 at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, California. This year, the AACR meeting theme is “Inspiring Science • Fueling Progress • Revolutionizing Care.”
Visit booth #4159 at the AACR Annual Meeting 2024 to connect with members of the Agingteam.
About Aging-US:
Agingpublishes research papers in all fields of aging research including but not limited, aging from yeast to mammals, cellular senescence, age-related diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer’s diseases and their prevention and treatment, anti-aging strategies and drug development and especially the role of signal transduction pathways such as mTOR in aging and potential approaches to modulate these signaling pathways to extend lifespan. The journal aims to promote treatment of age-related diseases by slowing down aging, validation of anti-aging drugs by treating age-related diseases, prevention of cancer by inhibiting aging. Cancer and COVID-19 are age-related diseases.
Agingis indexed and archived byPubMed/Medline (abbreviated as “Aging (Albany NY)”), PubMed Central, Web of Science: Science Citation Index Expanded (abbreviated as “Aging‐US” and listed in the Cell Biology and Geriatrics & Gerontology categories), Scopus (abbreviated as “Aging” and listed in the Cell Biology and Aging categories), Biological Abstracts, BIOSIS Previews, EMBASE, META (Chan Zuckerberg Initiative) (2018-2022), and Dimensions (Digital Science).
Please visit our website at www.Aging-US.com and connect with us:
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